Arsenal are useless, hopeless, pathetic. Oh…

By Tony Attwood

Funny ol’ game. When we win we are lucky, because the other team had lots of illness – a virus swept through the Aston Villa camp prior to the game. When we lose it is our fault for not being prepared, and no excuses will help us.

Ah well, we won, with 71% of the possession – one of the highest I can recall in a while. We had three shots on target and scored three goals. So it goes.

Now the media will start coming out with their excuses for the merciless attacks on the stunningly talented Mesut Özil – indeed I’ve heard them practising them. It’s not our fault that we attack him, they say, he has the look of someone not bothered, so we are bound to attack him.

So now we judge players not by their ability or skill but the look in their eyes. Ah well, another day another excuse.

And there’s the one about the “Gunners fans imploring Arsène Wenger to drop Özil.

No, that was the little hard core AAA mob, that the papers like to listen to. Not the people who go to games. Alexis Sánchez is said to have been given a rest – but was said by the club to have had a minor knock in the warm up. We believe who we wish.

Ozil’s goal came from Welbeck’s pass through the middle. Then apparently it was “Welbeck’s turn to answer criticisms”. No, Welbeck has been playing his own game, getting himself into gear, getting used to the team. It was the newspapers’ turn to change their minds, certain in the knowledge that most of their readers have the attention span of a gnat on heat.

Danny played the ball out to Özil on the left. He ran forward, took the return pass and scored first time. After that Aly Cissokho put Kieran Gibbs’ cross from the left into his own net. And that was that.

They (the unholy alliance that criticises Arsenal at every turn) will carry on doing so, with snide remarks and pathetic sarcasm (I heard Talksport during the Liverpool WHU game run an interview with Mr Wenger in which he jokingly said something like “I have five players who want to play in the centre”. They said, “well clearly he’s bought too many players of the same type.”)

It was a joke, Talksprout, but of course, you had a humour by-pass long ago.

Our team was…

Wojciech Szczesny

Calum Chambers Per Mertesacker Laurent Koscielny Kieran Gibbs

Mikel Arteta

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Aaron Ramsey Santi Cazorla Mesut Ozil

Danny Welbeck

The subs were

Tomas Rosicky

Lukas Podolski

Jack Wilshere

all coming on at 78 minutes.

Those we didn’t use were

David Ospina

Alexis Sanchez

Abou Diaby

Francis Coquelin

so it was nice to see Diaby moving up the ladder all the time, having had his run outs with the under 21s he is coming onto the bench. Let’s hope he is well.

Chambers, Ramsey and Wilshere got booked.

But one newspaper did ok in its on-line coverage. The Independent said

“A lesser man than Arsène Wenger would have welcomed a public apology. He might even have sanctioned the circulation of his CV, so its depth and substance could be savoured and celebrated. Yet he merely smiled serenely, and allowed his persecutors to reach an obvious conclusion.

“He’s not bad at this management lark, you know. He may be second guessed by couch potatoes and serial pessimists, but his principles are sound and his nerve holds firm. He did not need to dwell on the personal relevance of a four-minute, three-goal, spell which promises a timely transfusion of self-belief.

“The doubters would have dropped Mesut Özil, absurdly dismissed as a waste of £42million. Wenger retained his faith, and incorporated a significant tactical shift which utilised the German’s mobility and positional intelligence in his favourite role behind Danny Welbeck.

“The hanging judges have already condemned Welbeck as a dubious investment, a forward who embroiders an attack rather than eviscerates a defence. He scored his first Arsenal goal minutes after setting up Özil’s first of the season.

“It might not be Total Football, but it is a welcome flash of colour in the uniform greyness of the Premier League. The rotational movement of the front five was subtle and sinuous. Wenger’s facial features, so often pinched, were softened by the release of suppressed tension.”

Thank you, Independent. A nice piece of contrition.

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64 comments to Arsenal are useless, hopeless, pathetic. Oh…

Nice summary. Incredible how Ozil was being hammered like that after only 4 matches. Some were even comparing him with flops like Andy Carroll. Unbelievable. I had seen enough in Welbeck to be optimistic; I like a striker who gets in positions that allows him to have a shot at goal. And it was only a question of time before he started rattling them in. And absolutely delighted to see Abou back in the first team 🙂 COYG!

Well done independent, maybe they live up to their name rather than joining the aaa media sheep.
A good day enjoyed by…..most ….of our fans and certainly the team.
What happened to Liverpool…..keep getting told Rogers is a tactical genuis and that wenger needs to be more like him? Have they done what Spurs did last year? I await the media reaction to pool…..or lack of it with interest.

The media twits who were gleefully sharpening their Welbeck knives after 3 goalless games for Arsenal are the same ones who praised and hailed him as England’s saviour after he scored two for England in the qualifier against Switzerland.

Take Danny over Balo any time. Wait until the latter starts getting pissed off and disrupting the dressing room……as he has done everywhere he has been. MB – Huge talent, but a waste of oxygen. I am amazed BR went near him

Untold Arsenal, an oasis of perspective, sanity and rationality in a vast ocean of half truths, distortions and general bull$&!t when it comes to football matters! Had the ‘pleasure’ of listening to the second half of West Ham vs Liverpool on TalkSPORT so the ‘humour transplant’ quote has some resonance; they were queuing up to make excuses for Liverpool’s defeat, namely that it is much harder to balance playing in the Champions League and the Premier League – if anyone can recall Arsenal being given such slack in the SEVENTEEN consecutive seasons they have played Champions League football, let me know! Mr Collymore even went so far as to say that Brendan Rogers needs to have a team for Champions League games and one that can win the ‘bread and butter’ Premier League matches against teams of West Ham’s ilk so the poor lambs can cope! But taking the proverbial biscuit was Sam Matterface insisting 3 league defeats in their first 5 matches is not a disaster – usually seen as relegation form for other clubs; the comment would be funny if it wasn’t so stupid and sad…

All these guys can play in the middle and that is usually the preferred position of most of them. I don’t think you have any need to reason with the mouth-breathers on Talksport. It is of no use. While Arsene could be accused of slight exaggeration (I could only list 8 instead of 10 🙁 ) I don’t see his comment as a joke at all.

Any link to that The Independent article? Yes, I am that lazy. Szczesny had one very good save, but a few times in the first half he dawdled on the ball and was nearly closed down. That’s something he needs to cut out of his game.

Villa were quite pathetic, but give them credit, they never tried to kick us off the pitch, like some relegation fodder like doing, you know, Stoke, QPR, Man $ity…

The fact that u singled ozil out for praise today, something I can remember u or anyone doing in a long long while shows that we all know he had underpeformed. It is very unfair for anyone to call him a flop but I won’t say the same about people who wanted him to be dropped. B4 today he had one bad game after another,so u can’t praise a player who is in that kind of form.I don’t think anyone will criticize him today.one thing I take from his performance today is that he is not a winger, he was wasting on the wings

Silly me Jambug…..of course…..transition! And….They have injuries and have sold a special player as well, so they can be excused by the media…….just like we were in similar circumstances!
And they aren’t getting quite,as many dodgy penalties as last season.
Watch Rogers get manager of the month next time they win

Ben,
Just to clarify,
Starting on the wing in Arsenal doesnt mean he is a Winger.
The reason he underperformed (just like all other players in his team) are:
1- all our players were playing badly,
2- Playing Sanchez, One of them have to defend, and since Snachez is the most forward of them, Ozil had to do the dirty job, which restricted his movement.
3- The media blaming him for everything, which puts pressure on him until he perform, like today.

Btw,
Neither Cazorla, Nasri, Silva,…etc are all not Wingers if you know what I mean.

We ‘ve successfully dealt with Villa game. So, let us start thinking about our home game with Southampton in the Capital One Cup that is coming up on Tuesday 23rd. I think this game will be for Akpom, Bellerin, Hayden, Ajayi, Ospina, Martinez, Diabi, Coquline, Zalalem, Rosicky, Campbell, Podolski, Sanogo, Flamini and Miquel to play and shine. And Arsenal will win the game. They must, to be on their way to win their first silverware in this season. I think the boss will rest the core of his first team starting X1 for our home derby game with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.

Pleased to see Ozil play so well from the central position he enjoys and from which so many fans want him to make his own.
I thought the imperious way in which he took the first goal should quiet for all time , those who question his ability.
A vital combination might well develope between Ozil and Welbeck to our distinct advantage.
Arsene may have selection problems because it would appear difficult to see Ozil playing in a central attacking m/f role, with both Wilshere and Ramsey alongside. One or the other but not both. together.
Or am I wrong?

Enjoyable article, Tony. Puts the icing on the cake of an enjoyable win. Pleasant to read something decent from the press for a change as well.

Arsene will not always play Ozil in the middle but he did today and Mesut repaid him richly. As Martin Keown said on Match of the Day, Arsene has supported him and it has boosted his confidence that, whatever anybody else says, his manager fully appreciates his qualities.

Not only was it great to see Danny Welbeck score, but there is something particularly enjoyable in hearing his Manchester accent when he is interviewed. We appreciate him even if they don’t. Again, I feel we will gain a lot from this. They have brought him up from when he was little – and now we will benefit. I reckon SAF can’t be that pleased. How enjoyable!

Great result and a very important one I must say.But there are a lot of thing that still annoy me.We lack that passion and aggression from most of our players.Why don’t we ever complain to the referee.Like for example other teams do when any decision goes against them.We also could’ve won by many more goals and I’m still agains this four central midfielder system.If anything wenger should play the Ox who likes to come in centrally and also can attack well.

nicky I thoroughly agree re. Ramsay and Wilshere. Although the may make a great partnership one day I hope to see them both competing for the same position at the moment, which is healthy competition when you think a club like ours will play 60 odd games. Ox looked good, and TR7 looked really sharp and made us tick a little faster after his introduction. Great to see Ozil come deeper looking for the ball and using it well. Good performance and three great away points.

Hoping to see 90 minutes from Diaby on Tuesday, can’t wait to see the line-up for that one.

However, it was not the restless sleep of the Dortmund match, but a calm serene sleep, that allowed us to wake up in an instant, do our thing, and than calmly go back to sleep again.

The thing we did?

Well Danny assisted Ozil and Ozil assisted Danny. (So happy for them both).
We could not have asked for any more that that, but villa gave us another one, even though it was probably going to be scored anyway if the defender had not intercepted it.

The only thing I know is there’s more to come. Welbeck just joined and still not up to his potential (and he’s still young).

Sahchez is not playing and neither Walcott.

Cazorla can always slot in somewhere… The attacking is set and its VERY VERY good unlike many who said Arsenal have not improved (how stupid!!!)

I expect Wenger to always play 2 “fast players” now that he has Welbeck, Sanchez, Walcott and Ox. Ozil is not slow just he gets exhausted if you keep playing him for several games and he runs all the time in all. I rather rest him.

The real problem is figuring out how to fit Ramsey and Wilshere. It is a bit tricky.

The Boss had a perfect formation for the game; I thought Arteta and Ramsey did both really well.
Ozil showed why he is great. The surprise to me was Welbeck’s passing, not his finishing.
Ozil and Welbeck should be joint winners of man of the game; if only one must be chosen, Ozil, but it is very close.

The best excuse I have ever used in order to avoid a speeding ticket was (and it worked twice!!):

“I really don’t care officer, write me a $1,000 ticket, I really don’t care, I got the worst case of diarreah and if I don’t get to a toilet quickly, I’m going to have a huge accident”.

Well, I guess Paul Lambert heard about that excuse too…

Now seriously, it was a very good game by us, and to be honest, we could even be better. A lot better. This kind of game, where we totally beat our opponents through sheer brilliance – is a great sign. Not even the best game for Rambo (who needs a bit of a rest) and Santi. They both can do better, but hell, Ozil – got his mojo back and was everywhere. If he gets back to this kind of form, on a regular basis (which as we all know could very well happen) – then we will destroy opposition teams.

And again Arsene’s genious is apparent: bringing back Cesc would have meant Ozil has no justification in our side. And he chose Ozil. And you know what? I think he made the right choice. Cesc is a wonderful player, but he is not magic. Ozil is. He does the unexpected and that’s why it’s so difficult to defend against.

Now let’s all hope for a dire 0-0 between the 2 big spenders, with a few red cards, a pulled hamstring for Costa and other nice surprises.

“…..most of their readers have the attention span of a gnat on heat.”
Considering their very short life span , it comes as no surprise that they have to try fuck each and anything that moves ( in their frustration ), very much like the the hapless AAAA !
And speaking of contrition ….a slinky ,tail between the legs ..err..type was just tried to worm in !
Don’t swat him , lets just watch the final , tortured death throes with morbid fascination !

Tow tough games coming up in the PL in the next two weeks. Next Saturday is a MUST win because you never know with Chelsea. Good game yesterday, when we won, some people said it was a weak Villa team, but I only care about the 3 points we took. I pray ManC and Chelsea draw, so that we make up two points on each of them.

I agree with most of the above. We had a mesmerising 4 minutes and a great match, Ozil and Welbeck particularly and how good that feels – just exactly what the doctor ordered. Yes, Ozil was pretty immense and I agree that Welbeck is very classy – the finishing touch all that was missing until this game.
We also played the second half excellently, conserving energy, which is very useful with so many games to play so often. Most teams would have gone on to try and score 5 or 6 and got knackered but this was very mature.

I don’t know how many noticed but we played the long ball many times more than I can remember. It seemed to me like they had gone over the Dortmund defeat and worked out the best way to play against and disrupt extreme hard pressing. Villa were no Dortmund but it’s good to get a response ready for that type of game. We can do the hard-pressing as well as any team but we would need at least 4 days between games and a fully fit squad to be able to do it without exhausting everyone. In this game Villa had nowhere to turn and could find no answers at all. Also, we won a whole lot of the second balls from headers and throw-ins. That is one way I think we have failed a bit in recent seasons. So we mixed it up and that totally stifled Villa. I sincerely hope that Wenger will instil this mentality in the players, using the high intelligence and skill of our players to adapt to every team instead of playing only the one way, regardless of who we are playing.

I am sure most would say that with the demands put on teams here in 4 competitions and with the huge quality of the Premiership, it is critical to have several ways to adapt, depending on freshness, the opposition tactics and what is at stake. This team can play tikka-takka with the best. With all the speed, we can do counter-attack with the best, especially with Ozil, with the addition of Sanchez and Welbeck alongside Chamberlain and Walcott when he returns, probably Campbell as well once he gets a chance. A few long balls and a bit of lateral thinking to mix it up could go a long way for us this year.

I do not claim to know all that much but I would agree that a lot of the naysayers are probably right in as much as Wenger may have been a bit stubborn in recent years. We probably could have won the league last year with just one more top quality striker. Most pundits and even Mourinho agree with that. I think of the games against United and the home game against Chelsea in particular, which should have been won, along with one or two others in which we dominated. This year, it would seem that we almost certainly need another top quality Centre back because everywhere else we have decent cover (Yes – we can chuckle at the thought of having 10 number 10s but would 8 number 10s and a couple more defenders hinder us at all?). However, we delivered an FA cup and so if we could go one better in the next 2 seasons it would be a continuation and a vindication of all that Wenger has been building since the bank balance has started to grow again.

Chelsea seem to have made a team that is well suited to winning the PL title, whereas last year, they could have been downed at least once by us. As this team stands, we are not as resilient as them but if we are in the mix come January, can get the defence up to scratch and mix it up, like today, then we will be at the top. If things continue, then we will add at least one of the very best players in the world at least in the summer and maybe this year in January as well. Will Wenger find the next Vieira type? Well if anyone can, he can!

But yesterday was a delight of the first order and couldn’t have panned out better. Hats off to Wenger and to the team for a clinical display and the joy it has brought us! In 2 or 3 weeks, we will be able to do that and then bring on Walcott and Sanchez for the last half hour or so. The mind boggles and even City and Chelsea would be very scared at that prospect. Put the new Vieira in there as well and you’d have irresistible awesomeness. Where is he? Maybe come January, a couple of the older Number 10s might move on (I’m not mentioning names because I love them all) and we could then get the mix just perfect. Happy days! Knowing how close we are is very exciting. Perhaps some of the naysayers should look at where we are, at the Emirates in it’s magnificence, at the training setup, at the bank balance and at this amazing team. Even a neutral would have to say that the painful years have been worth it. I know it’s been hard, especially for the young ones who don’t care about next year, but the pieces of the jigsaw are very close to all being in place. If we can do it then Wenger will surely regain the respect of all. A couple of trophies and a title would soften even the hardest doubters. Only time will tell but things are looking good.

Thanks for the great articles and the professionalism of the site, you have done a great service for honesty and integrity. Some other media outlets are catching on, which can only be a god thing. Great work!

@jambug
he played on d wing for Germany with little or no impact on games.he was simply ordinary and that was why he was hammered by Germans throughout the world cup.the real Madrid ozil ran the show in games and dat was why he was the best in his position throughout his time in Madrid. Nobody will rate him highly or pay 42 mil for him if his best was what he showed in the world cup.

Ben
Are you capable of thinking for yourself? It doesn’t appear so, what you just said sounds like the tripe we often read in the papers. If you cared to look at the German players’ stats you’d find he was right at the top. Why would the German coach keep playing him ahead of the likes of Gotze anyway if he was doing a bad job. He was the top scorer in the qualifiers for Germany. At the WC he scored, had direct assists and created chances that led to goals. And that’s supposed to be crap? I’m sure you believe Rooney had a better world cup. Stop reading the sun.

And you lie that he was hammered by the Germans. Were you ever there to hear the fans’ opinions? Or did you read any German papers? You simply parrot what the English media told you, without any verification from yourself.

I’m way , way past the AAA . I only take the piss out of the AAAA ! Different league of scum .
You ‘re most welcomed to kiss their arses if you so choose !
Just don’t sing their praises on here or try to convince the AKBs that they are ‘fans’ .

The Virus was only applicable after the 34th minute…prior to that; plundits were not talking much about how virus-affected Villans were…plundits were singing praise to the way Villans were taking the game to us – ohhhh the joy of being a failure in your profession (anti Arsenal journos)!!!

Arsenal performed creditably well to the delight of the team’s fans world wide.However,our defensive midfield is very much shakky and happy to note that Diaby is gradually coming for good. It is my wish we win more laurels this season. Iam particularly happy for Ozil and Danny,the teaming fans and our darling club. congrat

The strange thing is all these people regurgitating the nonsense they hear in the media about Ozil being crap at the WC can’t even give you one (1, solitary, two is asking for too much) fact to support he was rubbish. Not even one, apart from the “he didn’t look interested/bothered” nonsense. I saw how effective he was with my own eyes, and facts (stats) back what I thought I saw.

Apo
True. Before the 32nd minute we were hearing of how Villa were up for it and were taking the game to Arsenal. After the 36th minute it was all about how severely depleted their squad was because of the virus. We’ve also heard playing midweek in the CL has handicapped Liverpool. Just wondering why we never heard the same excuse used for us these last 17yrs. Laughable really.

A perfect weekend for Arsenal. Chelsea and City both dropped two point settling a for a draw. Chelsea back on bus parking mode. Costa ran hard for nothing. Cesc didn’t show much. Man U lost in a dramatic way. It proves how bad they are nd how Leister are under estimated. Arsenal do mot defend well recently but talk about a back made of butter… Haha

And what about Liverpool?

Falco and Barotalli… What have they contribute so far?

Ozil is back and don’t write off Welceck.
I hope Welbeck will actually help turn the media around for Arsenal being an English player.

Was hoping for some positive reporting after last night’s results , but was greeted by, ” Arsenal have won only their second league game of the season. ” , in the local news ( courtesy of The Sun UK from which it quotes verbatim ad nauseam .)
What , no one of only 2 unbeaten teams so far in the EPL ?
No only one of the usual top six to win ?
No only one to win away ?
I guess this is what happens when you in a crisis !

It’s true sometimes I even doubt some of our fans who verbally attack our players with all sort of words and expect the player to remain loyal and work hard to repay you with silverware. Now it is crystal clear why other players like Nasri,Sagna refused to sign new contract because this is what they expect when things start to go out of their favor. Even Messy is playing good because he earned all the support and respect he deserves from barca… At first RVP scored against Arsenal and out of respect he declined to celebrate that vital goal but after Arsenal fans start to call him traitor he scored and run towards Arsenal with jubilant and mockery celebration to show them Arsenal fans doesn’t deserve respect since we are behaving like idiots. Learn to support and respect our players no matter what.

yassin
the question is not whether he is a winger or not,it is whether he had done well in that position.he has played there since he came here and have always struggled.he played in the middle for the first time this season and everyone is praising him cos he excelled. I can’t remember him defending or doing the dirty work like u said,I know sanchez offered more defensively than he did